2012 Clean Energy Industry Report

Welcome to the 2012 Massachusetts Clean Energy Industry Report. This report follows our 2011 groundbreaking study to gauge the size and growth of clean energy sector employment and businesses. We are pleased to inform you that the industry grew significantly over the past 12 months and expects even stronger growth in the year to come.

Our survey shows that there are now 71,523 employees working in clean energy throughout the Commonwealth, up 11.2% from 2011.
Massachusetts is winning awards for our strong policies supporting energy efficiency and renewable energy. Fertile ground for these policies was laid when the Massachusetts legislature passed and Governor Patrick signed the Green Jobs Act creating the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) in 2008.

MassCEC is dedicated to increasing the pace of clean energy growth, as the first state entity in the nation created with clean energy eco­nomic development as our primary goal. We are proud that Massachusetts is a recognized clean energy leader that can accelerate the development and commercialization of new technologies with world-class researchers, dedicated entrepreneurs, experienced investors and strong policies. To build on this success, we are assisting clean energy companies to harness these assets, increase the pace of proj­ect development, and access a pool of highly-qualified, well-trained workers.

Despite a tough economic environment across the globe, the Commonwealth’s clean energy industry is growing rapidly. Our survey shows that there are now 71,523 employees working in clean energy throughout the Commonwealth, up 11.2% from 2011. This growth outpaced the overall economy by almost a factor of ten. Clean energy continues to maintain its place as one of our Commonwealth’s marquee industries with 1.7% of the total Massachusetts workforce.

The clean energy sector is emerging as a pow­erful economic industry in Massachusetts that will continue to generate thousands of jobs in the coming decades, and secure Massachusetts as a national and global leader in clean energy. This report captures the full extent of the clean energy community that have joined the Com­monwealth’s Innovation Revolution.